The present invention relates to a control device for controlling a machine tool capable of processing a workpiece according to the data of a profile of a final product when the workpiece is set in the machine tool and the data of the profile is inputted into the control device to operate the machine tool. The data of a profile of a final product is referred to as processing profile data in this specification, hereinafter. The present invention also relates to a processing device into which the control device and the machine tool are incorporated.
Conventionally, when a workpiece is processed by a numerically controlled machine tool for manufacturing a product, first, a drawing, on which a profile of the product is drawn, is made. A programmer decides a manufacturing process from the drawing and makes a numerically controlling program manually or automatically by an automatic programming device. The operator inputs the numerically controlling program into the numerically controlled machine tool and sets a workpiece to be processed in the numerically controlled machine tool manually or automatically by an automatic workpiece exchanging device. Then, the operator presets a tool to be used and sets a quantity of offset of the tool. Then, the operator attaches the tool to be used to a tool magazine of the numerically controlled machine tool. After that, the numerically controlling program is carried out, so that the workpiece can be processed. In this way, the product can be manufactured. In order to automate the above process as much as possible and also in order to utilize know-how accumulated by the programmer and operator, various inventions have been made and these will be described below.
As the first prior art, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-315550 discloses an automatic programming device. This automatic programming device comprises: a profile recognizing means for extracting a processing profile from data which expresses the processing profile of a workpiece; a processing condition storing means for storing the most appropriate condition with respect to the processing profile of the workpiece; and an automatic processing condition setting means for automatically setting the most appropriate processing condition stored in the processing condition storing means according to an output of the profile recognizing means. Due to the foregoing, it is unnecessary for the operator to set the processing condition at the machine tool, that is, the processing condition can be automatically set. Therefore, it becomes possible to exclude an error caused by an operator. Further, the load imposed on the operator can be reduced, and furthermore the working time can be shortened.
As the second prior art, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-138504 discloses a processing system. In this processing system, data of the workpiece such as the material, the surface roughness and the dimensional accuracy is previously stored, and the processing condition is decided by the first neural network. This processing condition can be corrected by the operator. The processing system includes a learning means by which a corrected processing condition is found when the processing condition is corrected according to the result of processing after processing has been actually conducted, and this learning means corrects the weight of the first neural network. Further, this processing system includes sensors to detect sparks, sound and forces generated in the process of processing. This processing system includes an adaptability control means in which input data sent from the sensors is inputted into the second neural network as data in a time series, and a state of processing at a certain point in time is averaged over a predetermined time so that the processing condition can be dynamically corrected. Due to the foregoing, even an unskilled worker can conduct processing under the most appropriate processing condition.
As the third prior art, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-26811 discloses a processing method in which numerical control is utilized. This processing method is described as follows. According to the registration of various information files, the input of data of a processing profile, the processing of a finished figure, the recognition of a pattern and the decision of a processing process, the most appropriate processing process and machine tool are selected, and the processing region and the processing procedure of the highest production efficiency are set, and the tool, the processing condition and the tool path, which are most appropriate for the inputted figure, are determined, and the production efficiency is enhanced by the measurement and correction conducted after processing and at the same time the processing accuracy is enhanced.
The technique for automatically creating a tool path from the data of a profile of a product to be processed is well known. When various processing conditions are added to this, the numerically controlling program can be automatically made. In the invention of the first prior art, according to the profile data of a product to be processed, the processing data is selected from the data base by a predetermined algorithm. This is a so-called stationary processing condition. On the other hand, in the invention according to the second prior art, a processing state which changes every second is detected by the sensor, and the processing condition which has been set according to the result of detection is subjected to adaptable control by the learning function of the neural network, so that a dynamic processing condition is found according to the processing state which changes every second. The first and the second prior art place emphasis on the automatic decision of the processing condition.
The invention of the third prior art is described as follows. When an operator inputs data, the processing condition is automatically decided by the same technique as that of the first and the second prior art, and the tool and the tool path are automatically decided, and the measurement and the technique of correction after processing are combined with each other, so that an objective product can be processed in an unmanned condition.
However, the above prior arts are based on the technical concept that a high dimensional accuracy and production efficiency are ensured by a method in which the state of processing is fed back for correction. That is, the above prior arts are not based on the technical concept that the processing state is estimated and the tool path and the processing condition are decided according to the result of estimation so as to realize the high dimensional accuracy and production efficiency.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device of a machine tool capable of automatically processing an objective product with high dimensional accuracy and high production efficiency only when data of a profile of a product and data of a workpiece are inputted into the control device. Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus into which the control device and the machine tool are incorporated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a control device of a machine tool capable carrying out the processing of a workpiece at high speed with high accuracy when the processing state is estimated and the tool path and the processing condition are automatically decided so that they can be made to agree with the estimated processing state. Also, it is another object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus into which the control device and the machine tool are incorporated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a control device of a machine tool in which an operator can change the tool path and the processing condition and operate the device manually. Also, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus into which the control device and the machine tool are incorporated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a control device of a machine tool by which an operator can be supported when he selects a processing condition while cost and profit are being taken into consideration. Also, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus into which the control device and the machine tool are incorporated.
The present invention provides a control device of a machine tool, for processing a workpiece when processing profile data is inputted into the control device, comprising: an input means for inputting the processing profile data of a profile of a final workpiece and for inputting the workpiece data of material and a profile of the workpiece to be processed; a data storing means for storing at least one of the mechanical data of the machine tool to process the workpiece and the tool data of the tool mounted on the machine tool; an estimating calculation means for estimating at least the occurrence of interference of a processing load with the workpiece or the occurrence of interference of the tool with the workpiece according to the data inputted by the input means and also according to the data stored in the data storing means; and a tool path deciding means for creating a tool path to process the workpiece and deciding a processing condition for processing the workpiece such as a main shaft rotating speed of the machine tool and a feed speed of the workpiece according to the data inputted by the input means, according to the data stored in the data storing means and according to the result of an estimating calculation conducted by the estimating calculation means.
Further, the present invention provides a control device of a machine tool for processing a workpiece when processing profile data is inputted into the control device, comprising: an input means for inputting the processing profile data of a profile of a final workpiece and for inputting the workpiece data of material and a profile of the workpiece to be processed; a data storing means for storing at least one of the mechanical data of the machine tool to process the workpiece and the tool data of the tool mounted on the machine tool; a tool path deciding means for creating a tool path to process the workpiece and deciding a processing condition for processing the workpiece such as a main shaft rotating speed of the machine tool and a feed speed of the workpiece according to the data inputted by the input means and the data stored in the data storing means; and an operator changing operation judging means for recognizing and storing a changing operation of the operator with respect to the tool path and processing condition which have been created and decided by the tool path deciding means and also for judging whether or not the changing operation is appropriate and also for reflecting the changing operation on the creation and decision of the tool path and the processing condition.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a control device of a machine tool for processing a workpiece when processing profile data is inputted into the control device, comprising: an input means for inputting the processing profile data of a profile of a final workpiece and for inputting the workpiece data of material and a profile of the workpiece to be processed; a data storing means for storing at least one of the mechanical data of the machine tool to process the workpiece and the tool data of the tool mounted on the machine tool; and a cost calculating means for calculating the processing cost of the workpiece according to the data inputted by the input means and the data stored in the data storing means.